Luc has been involved in the health field since he was 16 years old. He started his first business at the age of 18 selling exercise equipment and developing training programs while working at the Almonte Fitness Centre. His combination of excitement and curiosity about how the body works alongside his athletic training brought him to study at the University of Ottawa where he obtained a B.SC. (Hon) in Human Kinetics.

In 2008, he cycled across Canada in 57 days, raising funds for a children’s Foundation. Upon returning, he started his second business of providing Kinesiology services to his local area. Nine months later, he was involved in a near-fatal motorcycle accident. He sustained numerous life threatening injuries, including an unstable open-book pelvic fracture which required intensive surgeries to repair. With the help of family and friends, he closed his business and started rehabilitation as his new full-time job. Nearly one year later to the day, he was involved in a car accident that totalled his VW Golf and rehabilitation continued. The next eight years were spent rehabbing from these two accidents.

On the positive side, as there are always two ways to view a situation, he was granted a unique opportunity to:

1. Learn and acquire a vast amount of knowledge about the rehabilitation process from a patient’s perspective.
2. Access and benefit from numerous rehabilitative therapies and rehabilitation equipment.
3. Have an inside view of our Ontario Public Healthcare system and see what services were needed to help others in similar situations.

This first-hand experience uncovered two fundamental components that Luc felt were lacking in the field of health care:

First, there seemed to be little in the way of communication tools for health professionals to collaborate with one another regarding the shared goal of rehabilitation for a patient. Forming a health care team that consulted with one another concerning care outside of the hospital seemed to be near impossible. It appeared that no one had the time to collaborate.

Second, there were many occasions when he needed specialized care. This required endless telephone calls and internet searches in order to find someone that could help him. This process was very arduous and discouraging. Finding health professionals who provided the type of services that he required was not always easy.

As a result, he co-created www.healthlocator.ca to address these concerns. Luc presently splits his time between Vancouver Island and Ontario’s Ottawa valley and spends his spare time with his family and friends, windsurfing, cycling and climbing. 

Joanne’s desire to help and work with other people started at a young age. She studied Social Work for two years and obtained her Diploma, then began working on her Nursing degree. While studying nursing she started a family and decided to become a full-time mom. After raising her family, Joanne began working for a non-profit organization helping troubled youth obtain the care and health based services they required to make a new start in life. The development of these skills played a huge role in her life when she found herself both directly and indirectly involved in three motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) in seventeen months. (July 2009-December 2010).

 These accidents compelled her to do some very serious thinking about what happens to individuals and their families following accidents with injuries. Since she was involved in an MVA, she thoroughly studied the auto accident system and acquired information on accident benefits and services that were available to her and her family through her automobile insurance policy. After several conversations with friends, family, and acquaintances, she realized just how little people actually knew about the basics of an auto insurance policy, as well as the lack in understanding of the benefits available to them once they’re injured in an MVA accident.

Joanne has first-hand experience recovering from an MVA and fully supported her son during his 8-year rehabilitation from a near-fatal motorcycle accident. She understands how important it is for individuals to be informed about the various therapies and services that are available to help them achieve a full recovery .

With the encouragement of friends and members of the auto insurance industry, Joanne wrote an MVA Consumer’s Guidebook and is the co-founder of www.healthlocator.ca. She presently lives in Ontario’s Ottawa valley and spends her free time gardening, cycling, paddleboarding and travelling.

Darryl Bilodeau is a long-time resident of Ottawa, and a lawyer and registered trade-mark agent with DB Business Law Professional Corporation (DB Law). His legal practice focuses on matters related to knowledge and technology-based companies, including drafting and reviewing shareholders’ agreements, commercial agreements, confidentiality and proprietary information agreements, employment and consulting contracts. He also regularly provides advice on strategies for licensing intellectual property, and obtaining Canadian trademark registrations. Darryl obtained a Bachelor of Engineering degree (electrical) with high distinction from Carleton University in 2002. He went on to earn his law degree from Queen's University in 2007. Darryl was called to the Ontario bar on June, Friday 13th in 2008, and launched DB Law in June 2018. Prior to the COVID pandemic, Darryl was an avid distance runner having finished the Ottawa Marathon four times and completing over 25 half marathons since 2011.  

Content writer by trade, I construct web-based articles, pages, and content systems to help websites perform their intended role—enhancing a business’s web presence, brand authority, and customer acquisition. By applying data-driven insights, and a touch of creativity, I’ve meticulously curated unique, captivating user experiences for Health Locator and other clients spread throughout the health care spectrum.

In today’s high-competition web environment—where people would trade a limb for a pixel of browser real-estate on their target audience’s viewport—mediocre websites can’t possibly compete and are doomed to fall to the wayside. However, with my 3+ years of experience navigating the rapidly evolving search engine ecosystem, I help up-and-coming brands fight above their weight class and leverage the dreaded “algorithm” in their favor.

As a perpetual wanderer, doomed to walk the earth forever (hopefully), you’ll usually catch me living out of my backpack on a mountaintop while dreaming about the next opportunity to get a cold beer and a hot shower. Or maybe at some bourgeoisie coffee shop downing (legal) stimulants by the potful.

Hi, my name is Emma, and I am in my fourth year of my Bachelor of Health Sciences degree at Western University. Next year, I hope to go to medical school, and I aspire to become a family physician. My undergrad classes have focussed on public health, health policy, and health equity. In my future career, I want to have an impact in these ‘social’ fields of medicine.

I have been working with Health Locator all year on various research and outreach projects. Health Locator works to increase transparency around various health care fields and make care more accessible to the public. This internship has been a very good experience for me as it has taught me about  various health care professions that work as part of an interdisciplinary health team alongside physicians. The internship is also expanding my knowledge of the Canadian health care landscape and the regulatory processes involved with proving quality health care.

In my spare time, I love to go to the gym and be physically active. I currently work part-time as a personal trainer and am preparing for my first bodybuilding competition. I also love animals and spending time hiking outdoors.”

Hi there! My name is Anjali and I am a practicum placement student with Health Locator. I am currently completing my fourth year in the Health Sciences with Biology program at Western University. My dream is to open my own dental clinic as a practicing dentist in Canada and not only serve my community, but be able to empower my patients to take ownership of their oral health. 

 Through my experience with Health Locator, I have learned the dentistry scope of practice across the 9 nationally recognized dental specialties. Being able to translate complex dental conditions and procedures to the public has given me a broad overview of oral health, making me better-equipped for a career in dentistry. 

 Some of my other hobbies include yoga, travelling, and going on long walks with my 9-year-old Labrador Retriever dog. I have travelled to over 15 countries so far and I hope to pursue my dental education abroad as well! 

Hello! My name is Morgan and I currently work with Health Locator as a marketing practicum placement student. In May 2021, I graduated from Huron University in London Ontario with a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy in Commerce. I started a post-degree diploma in marketing at Western University in September 2021. I have completed eight courses that taught me how to develop effective marketing strategies, predict customer needs, create value for customers and organizations, complete market research, manage a brand and much more! 

At Health Locator, I have done extensive research that has allowed us to gain an understanding of the various issues within the healthcare system that can be solved using our network. We want to show our consumers that Health Locator eliminates many of the pain points when it comes to finding a healthcare professional. I also create a lot of the social media content for the Health Locator social media pages that highlights important information about a variety of healthcare professionals and services. 

In my free time I enjoy going on runs and walks, camping, hiking, and spending time with my friends. I have thoroughly enjoyed completing my practicum placement at Health Locator. I am learning valuable skills that will prepare me for a successful marketing career!